Being Geek Chic is a blog for stylish geeks, sophisticated nerds and people who enjoy the musings of a complete dork. Join us as we dream of driving the TARDIS, cuddle with our eBooks and test out an iPad sleeve. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi and a team of brilliant lady nerds. Meet the team.
Meet Emily Farquharson (aka Frogmella, @frogmellaink on Twitter). She’s the co-founder of Geek Girl Pen Pals, a wonderful online community of geeks who write letters to other geeks. On the 15th of every month, Emily and her comrade Leslie match all participants with a pen pal so they can write, tweet, and bleat to each other.
Farquharson also makes up one half of House of the Fickle Queen, an über cute jewelry and accessories store inspired by pop culture. Using a combination of upcycled old jewelry she’s been collecting for years and armed with her wits, some pliers and access to a laser cutting machine and the Internet, Farquharson and her pal Ms. Firth create whimsical and charming pieces, totally fit for a chic geek.
So read Farquharson’s interview with Being Geek Chic and discover her passions, advice, memoir title, and geeky crush…
Q: What led you to your passion?
A: Oh so many things! From a very, very young age I read whatever I could get my hands on. By the time I was 8 I had read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Hobbit and pretty much everything Roald Dahl wrote for children, which set my imagination off and opened up so many other doors. I also loved art a lot as a young one, particularly Dali and Picasso, which lead me to painting, drawing and generally being crafty. I am very lucky to have wonderful parents who did nothing by encourage me to explore, learn, read and it is something I have taken with me through my life. I am passionate about so much, not just books and art, but music, fashion, films and television, comics, science, baking and food, travel, ancient history, animation and more. I could fill a book with the things I am passionate about, because they have all shaped me into who I am in some way!
Editor’s note: A little context for today’s post. I find comic books very intimidating. I’ve read a few runs of Ms. Marvel and Wonder Woman, but the idea of diving into Spider-Man or The Incredible Hulk is totally overwhelming. The back catalogs are so intense and so deep, it’s almost scarier than the idea of watching all of Doctor Who. But of course, deep down you want to take it all in, but where’s the time? And so my brother, Adam, who is a much more versed in the world of comics offered to write a post on getting into the comic book vortex. Enjoy!
Iron Man 3 finally hits theaters tomorrow. But you already knew that, of course. Here’s something you may or may not have known: one day later, on Saturday, comic shops all across America will celebrate a rad little holiday known as Free Comic Book Day.
In honor of the weekend’s comic book-tastic events, I’m here to tell you, non-comic book readers of the world, that today is the day for you to start reading comic books. There is truly no better time than now. Here are just a few reasons why:
There are great jumping on points for you
You may say to yourself, “Comics are too intimidating and inaccessible!” I know the feeling, I’ve been there. Good news though, the comics juggernauts at Marvel and DC are aware of this common cry, and in recent days they’ve made efforts to extend a hand to new readers.
Marvel’s newest initiative, Marvel NOW! is offering up a fresh start for many of the Marvel universe’s greatest characters, with a bevy of #1 issues. There’s even a neat little red stripe at the bottom of covers in the Marvel NOW! line, which provided a newbie like me a very useful wayfinding tool while roaming the comic shop. DC Comics did the same a couple of years ago, launching 52 new #1 issues, known as “The New 52.” Both universes may still posses some unwieldy continuities and histories to confront, but these new efforts ensure they do little to get in the way for new readers like you.
You guys, this is scary. I’m on camera. You can see all the weird hand motions I make when I’m trying to express myself properly. What can I say? I’m a hand talker. But it’s all in the name of getting to know you, my readers, better. And of course capturing the craftiness of this great project:
So without further adieau, here’s my on screen debut. Don’t laugh. I’m sorry it’s so long. I’ll work on that. For now, it’s all part of a larger scheme behind making this blog bigger, better and more A/V oriented:
I would love it so much if you subscribed to the YouTube channel if you have a minute and love geeky-tastic videos. You can do that by clicking this thing: 
I love DIYs that are crazy easy, yet have a big impact. This is one of those. Wearing lots and lots of beautiful bracelets and bangles is really in right now (and not just with fashion bloggers, I promise.) - but if you don’t want to invest a ton of cash on some new sparkle, this project is easy and lets you share a bit of your personality by using comic book art.
1. Pre-string a piece of stretchy cord with half your beads. I used silver and blue faceted glass beads
2. Scan the portion of your comic book that you want to appear in your charm. You can use a couple different panels or a cover. I think 80s comic book covers are some of the best art out there, so I chose a Thor Journey Into Mystery cover from ‘86 and an Avengers West Coast Annual cover from ‘89. I scanned them and shrunk them down to about a half an inch. Then, print out two for each side of the charm.
3. Remove the stock photo in the charm and keep it. You’ll need it to stiffen the comic book prints. Tape a copy of your comic book of choice to each side and then trim the excess.
4. Now, use another piece of clear tape to create a lamination effect on the paper. You want to be careful not to touch the tape, because it will put fingerprints on it. Sandwich it in and cut the excess tape off.
5. Slip your comic book into the photo frame charm
6. Now, put your charm on your stretchy cord and finish beading. Tie it off and enjoy!
You need:
Comic book
Printer
Tape
Scissors
Stretch jewelry cord
Beads
Photo frame charm
Needle
20 minutes
Total cost: $3.50 per bracelet (Note: I bought my charm at a Michael’s store for $1, but you can find larger packs online for about the same price.)
We should all feel like Wonder Woman once in a while. Strong, brave, able to handle it all. I especially hope for some of those qualities during a tough week at work, so when I saw this Italian Comic Strip that had been cut up and placed into a panel bracelet setting on Etsy, I found myself inspired to figure out exactly what my work wardrobe would look like if I was channeling super powers for the day.
Of course, it’s all about primary colors in those spandex outfits, right?
I’m a little obsessed with this Nicole Miller Wrap Dress, because it’s got zigs, zags, panels and a black and white patterned hem that just calls out to me. Plus, it looks incredibly comfortable, which is a must have when an office showdown is getting intense. The necklace from J Crew reminded me a little of the windows and architectural detail in 1970s era Superman. Since the weather has consistently been dipping into the 50s and 40s the last two weeks, a leather jacket (this one from Top Shop is a wonderful trench length) seemed like an appropriate transition piece, meant to toughen us up for the world outside.
For option 2, I was inspired by leather.
The black sweater with leather accented sleeves is a great way to work leather into your everyday wardrobe. And ever since I saw this art deco inspired Diane Von Furstenberg skirt hit the runways, I’ve been dreaming up ways to work it into an outfit. I think this is the PERFECT way to do it. The panels of the skirt echo the panels on the bracelet. Once again, J Crew has an incredible selection of colorful jewelry this fall. This piece is called the Stone Storm Necklace, which is fitting for a super hero theme.
For both looks, I went with basic patent pumps in black and red. Honestly, those two items are things that you will wear over and over again, so invest in something that is comfortable and will wear well.
If you’ve got a geeky item that you’d like us to style for work, please send it to us at beinggeekchic@gmail.com.
Borderland comic tells seven stories of human trafficking survivors.
We would like to create and publish a 36 page comic book about human trafficking based on real events set around the world.
